Here are some tips, techniques and equipment all coastal sailors should keep in mind.

Sailing Gear

Having the right kind of gear aboard a sailboat is essential, not only to its performance, but the safety of the crew. With this in mind, SAIL not only reviews a wide variety of equipment, including foul weather gear, life jackets, sails, rope, electronics, paints and spars, but recognizes the very best of the best every year through its Pittman Innovation Awards.

Given the ongoing proliferation of electronic equipment and gadgets like watermakers, autopilots and electric winches on modern sailboats, it’s little surprise that batteries have become increasingly important. Typically speaking, marine batteries are 6- or 12-volts and are used as cranking batteries to start an engine, as deep-cycle batteries for house loads or as dual-purpose cells. Read More

Hobie Mirage Eclipse The latest stand-up paddleboard from Hobie Cat takes the sport to the next level by combining top-notch paddleboard construction with the company’s patented, leg-driven MirageDrive propulsion technology. The board is kitted out with a standing handlebar system that makes steering the SUP a breeze, however, if you want to do some traditional Read More

Garmin quatix 3 Smart watches seem to be all the rage these days, monitoring how many steps you take (or don’t), allowing you to watch cat videos on the go, all kinds of useful things. But when it comes to marine smart- watches, most of them are actually pretty damn handy, and the Garmin quatix Read More

In the 15 years since the marine AIS (Automatic Identification System) was introduced, many thousands of AIS receivers and transceivers have been sold for yacht installations. AIS is a method of tracking other vessels using a receiver or transceiver operating on the dedicated marine VHF Channels 87B (161.975MHz) and 88B (162.025MHz). Because of the considerable Read More

For more than 30 years the Cospas-Sarsat system has been the mainstay of modern search and rescue, with many thousands of people rescued thanks to the orbiting satellites that monitor distress signals broadcast on the 406MHz band from EPIRBs and personal locator beacons. The problem with the Cospas-Sarsat combination of low-earth-orbit (LEO) and geostationary (GEO) Read More

SeaLife Micro 2.0 One of the best things about sailing is the memories and what better way to capture the great times of your summer cruise than with a powerful, small and waterproof camera? The Micro 2.0 from SeaLife features a 16MP Sony CMOs image sensor that produces high-quality images and full 1080 HD video and a Read More

The Weego 44 portable jump-starter is easy-to-use, safe and reliable, and packs enough power to start 3.2 liter diesel engine. The Weego 44’s new, patent-pending “Smarty Clamps” have a rear hinge point and open much wider than traditional clamps, making it easier to connect the device to any battery terminal, and their design provides a Read More

The thud of a book landing on a desk is a rare pleasure in this digital age, much more satisfying than the ping of an email or text alert. Kindle has its place, but there’s nothing like paper to get a lasting message across. Good sailing fiction is a rare commodity these days—though there seems Read More

LotusGrill Artland Having a quality grill onboard is paramount for relaxing nights on the hook—after you’ve sailed all day and dropped the anchor, who wants to sweat down in the galley cooking dinner? The Artland from LotusGrill is a great fit for your boat, ready to go from the deck to the dock to the Read More